April 03, 2004

• I see another Brenden Frasier movie in the works.
• Actually, Keith Richards looks more the part.
• That's utterly fascinating! Thanks for the link doc!
• Fascinating and horrifying all at once. I tend bonsai, some of which will outlive me. I have to freaking think about who I will leave them to after I die, for chrissakes. That's plenty enough immortality for me, thank you very much.
• I don't get it. Mummifying themselves doesn't remove them from the cycle, does it? They still die, after all, and will get reborn. I wonder how they arrived at that conclusion, and what premises they used.
• Alnedra: I think the idea is that the cycle of rebirth continues until the soul masters suffering. If one is able to make the journey through the ultimate physical suffering required to become a "living" mummy, than, in theory, you've mastered control over the desires of your physical being (and it's desire that causes suffering) and get the giant boot out of the karmic cycle. But that's just a guess...
• Alnedra: Somehow logical thought from somebody willing to eat pine bark is not what I'd expect. Yhbc: cool, bonsai do be quite fantastic. Dr. Zira: Interesting link, but hard to read without cringing.
• [banana]
• I keep trying to think of something witty about supermodels, McDonalds, and resulting mummy-related enlightenment, but failing...
• Fascinating post, Dr. Zira, thanks! I guess these mummie monks are the antithesis of the marathon monks of Mt. Hiei.
• Here's a fixed link for the first article in the marathon monk post.
• Riveting! I wonder what that laquer made out of tree bark tastes like. The blogger's travelogue is a great find, too. The part about Christian relics existing in Shikoku is even more interesting than her bit about the mummy, but I can't find anything else about it on Google.
• I though buddhism was about avoiding the causes of suffering (like desire and such), not becoming one with it. Weird stuff. Nice!
• Daijuku Bosatsu Shinnyokai Shonin No relation to Monju, I hope?
• Why climb a mountain? Look: a mountain there. I don't climb mountain. Mountain climbs me. Mountain is myself. I climb on myself. There is no mountain. nor myself. Something moves up and down in the air. -- Nanao Sakaki
• The monkey god told the monks to do this, so future vegatarians would have beef jerky. Take my word on that, it's the fung shui version.
• Ying is like Taoism and yang like buddhism. The Taoist try forever to extend life, even making gun powder as special long life super potion. buddhist forever is to exstiguish life, to find answer of why? once the riddle of life is solve then it can be transcended. The buddhist in his story like ying and yang. Sometimes the lemming follow the crowd to edge, sometime is not too smart. So forever try to extend life like taoist. I make the husk of man, so it live forever then go to Nirvana, and come back. Stupid egyptian too. Only nother story like yang. Sometimes is the monkey that live in heaven like indian coyote. Is a trickster, but with the purpose. So the coyote says to egyptian pharo we need to save the king for the future to know, that is why you are like doctor, and to make the pyramid. And so then the future was preserved for the benifit of all. much noodle I eat today, now I sleep.
• Everyone is asleep. There is nothing to come between the moon and me. -- Enomoto Seifu-Jo, trans Kenneth Rexroth
• Dying After Death: The Buddha's Final Liberation